Unisys updates Michigan's child welfare IT system

Unisys Corp. will provide Michigan with a new child welfare information system under a 5-year contract that could be worth as much as $47 million.

The Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget award calls for Unisys to design and deploy a system that will serve the needs of thousands of children and social workers across the state, according to a Sept. 19 company announcement.

Designed to meet new state and federal data quality and information-sharing requirements, the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System will provide an integrated database for use by Michigan Department of Human Services workers to track the cases of approximately 15,000 children involved in the state’s foster care and adoption services programs, the announcement said.

The Unisys solution will integrate all aspects of the child welfare process, from eligibility to adoption and financial management, while maintaining secure access to data for authorized government workers.

Unisys also will provide a centralized data repository to help ensure data quality.

The new contract has an initial value of approximately $30 million but the state may order additional services that could bring the total value of the contract to approximately $47 million.

Unisys has been supporting the child welfare system in Michigan since 1991, when the company began developing a predecessor child welfare system, which has been modified extensively since then.

Unisys, of Blue Bell, Pa., ranks No. 40 on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.